We are proud of our achievements in 2019. From completing the integration of our gas utilities to executing several important long-term regulatory initiatives and others highlighted in this report, we continued to make meaningful progress towards the goals of our strategic plan.
As we navigate 2020, we have found ourselves confronting new challenges including the global COVID-19 pandemic and the civil unrest in response to racial and social injustice across our country. I am proud of how our organization has responded and how as One SJI we have stood together, united and strong.
Across SJI, we have actively responded to the COVID-19 Pandemic in accordance with guidance from the CDC, the State and our regulators. In March, all office-based employees began working remotely, including our dispatch and customer service teams. At the onset of the pandemic, our field operations teams immediately began to prioritize essential work and were equipped with proper PPE.
As part of our response, we have remained committed to keeping all of our stakeholders safe and informed through everything from shareholder outreach to timely customer and employee communications and more. We also made significant contributions to support the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, the AtlantiCare Foundation, Trinitas Regional Medical Center and the Community FoodBank of New Jersey Southern Branch to directly support those in need across our communities.
I continue to be extremely proud of our employees and the resiliency they have shown throughout this unprecedented crisis. Through their selflessness and dedication, we have been able to deliver on our commitment to provide safe, reliable, affordable natural gas service without interruption while protecting the collective health and safety of our customers, employees, families and the communities we serve.
As we continue to navigate the pandemic, we remain focused on identifying ways that we can support our communities and employees, while developing a return to office protocol that puts safety first.
In the midst of our response, we were struck by the senseless killings of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery that brought to light the racial and social injustice that continues to exist around us and caused national civil unrest. As an organization, we are firm and clear on where we stand in response: this injustice is painful and has no place in our society or SJI.
At SJI, respect, inclusion and acceptance are central to our values and core to who we are. For that reason, we quickly informed our employees and other stakeholders of our position on this issue and the resources we have available to support them through this already difficult time, now made more challenging.
Across our organization we are working to take meaningful actions regarding race relations to address the evident inequities in our communities and to best serve all our stakeholders. As One SJI, we stand together committed to creating a better, more tolerant world within our organization and the communities where we are proud to live and work.
No matter what we face, our mission endures. We’re committed to providing safe, reliable, affordable energy, ensuring the safety of our employees, customers and the communities we serve, while also delivering value to our shareholders and being stewards of the environment. We are unwavering in our mission, and our focus on sustainability helps us maintain this commitment to our more than 700,000 customers.
In this, our 11th report, we continue to highlight results that enhance the sustainability of our company, environment and community. We’ve also continued to enhance the document, preparing the appendix in accordance with the American Gas Association Voluntary Sustainability Metrics reporting guidelines to highlight our commitment to the environmental, social and governance priorities that matter most to our investors and other stakeholders. Looking ahead, we will continue to expand our metrics to meet the changing, dynamic needs of our stakeholders.
As we continue to transform our business for the future, we promise to maintain our commitment to sustainability, reinforcing the foundation for a sustainable business and energy future for our region.
Michael J. Renna
President & CEO
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